How to run a marathon - 2 - Safety first

Whether you wish to run on a regular basis, or go somewhat further and run a marathon, I will repeat the overriding principle that is most guaranteed to succeed. They are the same words with which I concluded my last entry on the subject: take it easy. Going too fast, or running long distances that you're not used to, can easily lead to injury. You need to be patient, and build up gradually. Patience, perseverance and discipline are the qualities of a successful distance runner. A good physique and natural talent are obviously extremely useful, but without the necessary mental qualities, physical qualities are simply not enough. On the other hand, you could possess an iron will and strong discipline, without being particularly gifted physically, and still become a reasonably good distance runner.

The approach I'm suggesting here is built on this method of cautious, gradual build-up. In the first week, we did our first easy runs of 10 minutes each, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, plus a slightly longer 15-minute run on Sunday. We have the beginning of the structure of a typical running week, with regular runs on weekdays and a longer run during the weekend. You could of course adapt the system to your own life schedule. Here I'm advocating an extra-cautious approach, that with the onset of middle age I've found particularly useful - a one day on, one day off system that allows my muscles to recover on rest days. Nowadays I typically run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday plus a long run on Sunday. When I was younger I used to run everyday except Saturday. Then I added another rest day on Monday (to recover from Sunday's extra effort), until my present four runs per week. How many times you run per week is up to you, how you feel, and what you wish to achieve. But I do suggest at the very least one day off per week to allow your muscles and joints to recover.

During these first few weeks, the idea is to become used to the routine of running, to establish your preferred running routes, and to train your body to adapt to the rigours of running. If your aim is to lose weight, don't expect to achieve it at once. You will certainly lose weight eventually, but this takes time, at least four weeks, probably more. Remember, running is a long-term commitment, not a temporary whim. At my running club in Malta, St Patrick's Athletics Club, our slogan is "running is a way of life".

Patience, perseverance, discipline. These first few runs are your most crucial. If you manage to find the time, insist to go out for your run, and don't make up silly excuses to miss out, you will probably keep it up. In that case: congratulations, you may now consider yourself a runner. You won't regret it!

In the second week, you may repeat what you did on Sunday (a 15 minute run) on Tuesday and Wednesday. The following Friday and Sunday, you move up one notch to 20 minutes. Your first two weeks would therefore be something like this:

Week 1, starting on Monday - 10 min, rest, 10 min, rest, 10 min, rest, 15 min on Sunday.
Week 2 - rest, 15 min, 15 min, rest, 20 min, rest, 20 min.

I'll be away for a few days, so here's the third week thrown in for good measure. It's basically more of the same, building up more and more endurance, until we start considering speed training and eventually racing... Here's the third week, still doing simply running at an easy pace:
Week 3 - rest, 20 min, 20 min, rest, 30 min, rest, 30 min.

Safety first
I started today's piece by advocating caution. Caution is not only about training: it's also about safety. Unless you intend to do all your running on a track (which may tend to be boring), or in a park, you may need to do at least part of your running in streets. Even if you run mostly on the pedestrian pavement, you will often need to cross the street, or use some roads that do not have any pedestrian paths at all, and therefore share the road with motor traffic. Always keep in mind that car drivers are not expecting to encounter joggers on the road: so it's up to you to keep a watch out for cars. Never go out for a run in the dark wearing dark clothing. Wear yellow or white, but preferably a brightly coloured bib. It's generally a good idea to run against traffic, so that you can see the vehicles approaching you, but this is to be absolutely avoided at blind curves, because you would really be risking a bad accident that way: always run on the outside part of a curve in the road, to give drivers ample time to see you. And be extra careful when crossing the road!

Finally, as far as jogging or running on the road is concerned, unless drivers clearly and unambiguously stop to allow you to proceed, always give way to motor traffic. The road was built for motor traffic, not for joggers, and whatever the law may say, it's never a good idea at all to be hit by a car. It could mean the end of your running career, if not your life.

"Rush" hour?

Why do they call it the rush hour? It's anything but a rush. I would call it the snail's pace hour. The Italians and the French are much more realistic - they use their own linguistic equivalent of the peak hour.

Something should really be done about it. People who have lived in cities bigger than Brussels all say that it's nothing compared to London, Paris or Rome, but I can safely say that the Brussels jam is awful enough. There's no respite. Even to get to the train station, it's a jam. The trains themselves are jam-packed with passengers standing up. Hmmm, I now realise a better term for the rush hour would be the jam hour...

So, what can be done about it? To begin with - more train trips, at least double the frequency. But I suppose the public transport infrastructure is already bursting at the seams. We probably need more innovative, revolutionary measures. How about spreading out the opening times of offices? Spreading out the time when employees can report for work and leave the office? A strong drive to promote teleworking, even if on a partial basis? Creating alternative weekends in the middle of the week? I can't see why not: various categories of employees work during weekends, and they don't seem particularly traumatised by the set-up.

It's just such a pity that so many of us have to start our working days at a high stress level from the very beginning!

Quo vadis, Juventus?

Article 1

Definition

"We" means Juventus.

Article 2

State of Play

After seven matches, we have already picked up two defeats, following on from two draws, and just two wins. From the last four matches, we have gained a grand total of 2 points. In seven matches, our points tally is 9 points, on a par with Lecce. Above us, one can find footballing giants of the calibre of Catania, Atalanta, Udinese, Napoli and Genoa. For the third week running, our glorious name is gracing the bottom half of the table.

Article 3

The Coach

1. At the beginning of this season, coach Claudio Ranieri blurted out what he thought was a daring statement. "La parola scudetto non è un tabù." Winning the championship is not forbidden.

2. This statement was more revealing than anything else he might have said, anything he's doing, or whatever he will (probably never) achieve. Caro Mister, per la Juve lo scudetto non è mai un tabù, ma è un obbligo! The very reason for the existence of Juventus is so that they win trophies. For Juve, the runner-up position is considered a failure. But, quite clearly, the man is unaware of this fact, and that he's no longer coaching any ordinary Fiorentina, Udinese or Sampdoria. Josè Mourinho, in his inimitable way, highlighted this when he remarked about Ranieri: "He's almost seventy. He's hardly ever won anything. It's too late for him to change now."

Article 4

The Players

The Juve line-up nowadays includes such "stars" as Molinaro, Knezevic, Grygera, Salihamidzic. It regularly features Del Piero and Nedved, who are now well past their expiry date. Most of our best players are out injured, and their substitutes are hardly fit to play in any Serie A team.

Article 5

The Management

With the passage of time, we are beginning to look evermore like Inter used to be a few years in the past. Countless names of unknown foreign players are continuously bandied about as potential new recruits, supposedly to boost the team. And the string of successive years without any victory becomes ever longer.

Article 6

Future Prospects

1. Overall: bleak.

2. Short term - Champions League against Real Madrid this Tuesday. Dear God, please help us!

3. Medium term - if we're lucky we'll avoid relegation this season, unlike Milan in the early 80s, when they dropped back to Serie B, through the results of normal play, a couple of years after having been forced to play there due to the "calcioscommesse" scandal.

4. Long term - I fear a repeat of the post-1986 black period for Juve. This was a nine-year drought characterised by the following names (to mention just a few) - Rino Marchesi, Gigi Maifredi, Magrin, Galia, Ian Rush, Zavarov, Aleynikov, Alessio, Blanchard...

Cringe-fest updated

You can save yourself lots of embarrassment, and in particular the cringe factor of a cringe-fest, by being as invisible as is socially acceptable during the big event...

How to run a marathon - 1 - The first steps

The overriding principle in training is this: don't try to achieve too much in a short while. Any abrupt increase in intensity or duration is the perfect recipe for an injury or burnout. Gradual and continuous progress is the key to long distance running.

Therefore, the length of your very first runs depends on your current state of fitness.

Now here's another golden rule, that should serve you admirably throughout your running career: learn to read the signs given out by your own body. The way you feel is a strong indicator of your state of fitness, your readiness to undertake a particular run, whether your muscles are up to the stresses involved. If you feel pain, it means something's wrong. If you're simply itching to go running, you're probably in good shape.

So, how long should your first runs be? I'll consider three possible situations - although there are of course many different intermediate degrees of fitness.

If you're unfit, possibly overweight, your first outings should be on the cautious side - a brisk walk, breaking into a slow jog for a minute, back into a walk, and so on - for not more than ten minutes. This you should repeat on alternate days. Eventually, the jogging intervals will get longer, until you'll be able to jog continuously for 10 minutes.

If you're not unfit, but simply untrained, you should be able to jog for 10 minutes without stopping to rest. If you haven't done any sport for a long time, it would be a good idea to limit your first three runs to just 10 minutes, on alternate days. The days off will give your muscles time to recover from the exertion to which they are not accustomed, with resulting inevitable soreness. This initial phase will simply serve for your whole self to get used to this novel activity.
You may be reasonably fit already, through being active in another sport. In such a case, you could even put in a longer run, say 20 minutes or so, depending on your level of fitness.

But whatever the case don't overdo it, in intensity as well as the distance run. It's better to err on the safe side than risk getting injured. And, at least in the beginning, do not run fast at all. An easy jog will do; speedwork will come later, after you have built a solid base of endurance through easy and steady running.

What should you wear while running? Good running shoes are the most important running gear. Also, socks are important to absorb sweat, and lessen the risk of blistering or catching athlete's foot through your feet being constantly wet. It's not a good idea to run without socks. If it's cold, i.e. less than 10 degrees C, you may need warm gloves and a woollen cap. At the other temperature extreme, dress as lightly as possible. No fancy stuff - any old loose-fitting tee-shirt or sleeveless top plus comfortable shorts will do. Make sure, if you're running in the dark, to wear light colours, preferably a bright fluorescent bib.

Where should you run? The most practical, if the surroundings are suitable, is straight out of the front door, for 5 minutes in any direction, 5 minutes back and you're done. You could otherwise go to a park, a jogging trail, a pleasant promenade, anywhere without too much traffic which is reasably flat and smooth. But travelling to a park and then coming back takes up precious time, which may be in desperately short availability... In fact, I normally do a combination of the two. I run on a pleasant route, being the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels, or the lovely St Julian's to Sliema promenade when I'm in Malta, but I include the time taken to jog towards my preferred running haunt as part of the training.

At what time of the day should you run? It depends on various factors, particularly your life schedule and the conditions outside. In the peak of summer, running at any time from late morning to early afternoon should definitely be avoided, as you risk getting heatstroke, which in bad cases could even be fatal. In very hot weather, running should only be undertaken in the early morning or from late afternoon onward, also making sure you drink lots of water before and after your run. Otherwise, i.e. in cooler weather, it's up to your preference and the time you have available.

What should you eat and drink? Anything you like, in moderation. Not too much meat and fats. Carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables are definitely the best. And of course, lots of water, and no more than one unit of alcohol per day (except on rare occasions if there's a good party, you're not driving, and you're prepared to face a couple of days hungover). It's never a good idea to party late into the night if you intend to go out running the day after... Never. In particular, you shouldn't eat a heavy meal, especially one containing meat or fatty foods, if you intend to go out running within the next few hours.

To recap, here's a typical beginners' programme for the first week (as explained, unfit persons should do brisk walks including short jogging intervals, until they reach the fitness level required for a 10-minute jog):

Day 1 - 10 minutes jog
Day 2 - rest
Day 3 - 10 minutes jog
Day 4 - rest
Day 5 - 10 minutes jog
Day 6 - rest
Day 7 - 15 minutes jog

Good luck, and enjoy your first training runs. Three last words before you go - take it easy!

An important discovery

Today I discovered the existence of a hitherto unknown concept, the cringe-fest.

I also realised it's sometimes impossible to avoid them.

A 55-year-old man's life is worth just €103 000

That was the value given by the Maltese Civil Court last Friday, as reported by the Malta Independent. This is calculated, according to the court judgment, on the missed earnings of the man, and will be paid to his family as compensation for his death by asbestos poisoning at the Malta Drydocks.

I must say I feel deeply shocked at how cheaply the Maltese courts value human life, which to them works out at just what the person would be able to earn for the remainder of his working life. The profound loss and untold sorrow of his grieving family apparently count for absolutely nothing.

By the same logic of missed earnings, if the deceased had been an invalid, his family would have had to pay up a sum of money equivalent to their savings on the cost of caring for him...

Now let's make an odious comparison. Ex prime minister Dom Mintoff was awarded about €700 000 for damages suffered when a power station was built in front of his villa. The villa is still there. It was totally untouched, it's still habitable, but looking out the window the view is now dominated by a huge phallic symbol, which is visible from the other extremity of the Maltese archipelago. The moral, physical, material, psychological and emotional damage suffered by il-Perit due to this outrage is, according to the Maltese courts, worth seven times that suffered by the family of a worker killed by asbestos poisoning at the Malta Drydocks.

Life is really, really fair.

How to run a marathon - 0 - The big decision

Most runners take up their sport in order to either lose weight, gain fitness or stay fit.

Those are already desirable goals in themselves, and running is a very efficient way to achieve them. Cycling, swimming, walking and other sports are also fun, but none of them, I think, burn up calories as fast as running, and neither are they as conveniently easy to practice.

Soon, however, the motivation changes. Running becomes an end in itself. Once you settle into a training routine, you start setting goals for yourself - a 10km race with a particularly interesting route, a series of races, a half marathon, a marathon if you really get into it - and each target that you reach gives you a tremendous sense of achievement.

For a non-runner, 10km might seem an impossibly long distance to run. Believe me, it's easy to build up, bit by bit, to that distance and much beyond. Your initial goals of losing weight, keeping fit and staying healthy end up being simply positive side-effects, which you almost take for granted.

The training runs themselves are also an opportunity to let your mind relax. You enter a different world, your thoughts going off on any imaginable tangent, sometimes even working out solutions to pressing everyday problems. You become an expert in the geography of your wider neighbourhood. You feel good about yourself.

Running also disciplines you into adopting healthy habits. If you're a smoker, you realise what a bad effect it's having on your endurance, and inevitably end up giving it up in order to improve your performance. If you're committed to going out for a run, you don't drink too much or stay up too late the evening before. Effectively this means that most days you have to moderate your alcohol consumption. You watch your weight - cause and effect are now reversed as you keep your weight down in order to maintain your running form. Most of us started to run in order to keep our weight down...

Whatever your target, the most important step of all is to take the decision to start running. The other targets will come later, according to your preferences as they develop. This is not a light decision to take. Running requires a firm commitment. It's not an activity you carry out every now and then. To become fit, and to stay fit, you need to run on a regular basis, meaning at least three times per week. Unless you're determined, you'll never become a runner. You need to find the time to run, early in the morning, during the mid-day break, or in the evening, ideally also some time during the weekend. To some extent, you'll need to model your life schedule around your training.

You have to make sure that you're healthy enough to take up running. Most people are, whatever their age. My own rule in this respect is quite straightforward. If I'm ill I don't run. If I feel the urge to go out running, it means that I'm healthy enough to run. It's called listening to one's body, and I'll come back to this concept later. However, if you're in doubt, consult your doctor whether you should take up jogging, especially if you're not sure about your heart being 100% OK, or if you're over 40. Normally, however, if you have no particularly serious ailment, it should be OK for you to run. Your main problem might be your weight, but that will gradually resolve itself as you improve your training.

Having confirmed you can start training, you need to equip yourself. You will need:

1. A pair of good running shoes. Make sure they're of a good quality, reputable brand, and that they fit comfortably.

2. Several pairs of shorts, and if the weather is cold cycling shorts.

3. Several pairs of sports socks.

4. Several sleeveless vests for summer, tee-shirts for temperate weather, long-sleeved shirts and sweat shirts for cold weather.

5. A very bright-coloured bib if you're running before sunrise or after sunset.

6. Warm gloves for cold weather.

7. Optional - a friend to accompany you on your runs, but you can do very well without this, especially if you wish to run at your own pace, without having to keep up with or slow down to your companion's pace.

8. A stop watch that you can wear on your wrist, i.e. an ordinary digital wrist watch with timer.

You don't need any music equipment. It's rather dangerous in fact, as it drowns out the sound of any oncoming traffic.

That's it. You decide you want to become a runner. You establish you're healthy enough to run. You equip yourself to run (basically, get yourself a good pair of running shoes). Within a week you'll be ready to hit the road.

A step-by-step guide to running a marathon

Back to blogging. This is the point where this blog starts to live up to its title.

run42k. It's a nickname I chose for my online identity a few years ago, and clearly refers to running a full marathon. I think the name chosen is appropriate, since I would calculate that at any randomly chosen point in my life, from 1994 up till the present, there's a good probability that at that moment I would happen to be undergoing training to run a marathon. By now it's more than 17 years that I have been running regularly, and if my legs can take the strain, and my health continues to serve me well, I hope to carry on running for at least another 17 years. Possibly much more than that.

I wonder, by the way, if it's just a coincidence that these 17 years were exactly the same period that I have been married to my dear wife Sue. Surely, then, it must be her influence that inspires me to run... :-)

Whatever the inspiration (and I hope to go into this subject sometime in the future), I feel that all these years of running, including 9 marathons, hundreds of other races, and countless training runs, have given me an enormous wealth of experience, some of which I wish to share with you, dear reader, with the hope of inspiring you, in my turn, to take up this wonderful activity.

In my previous blog I mentioned a project that was mulling around in my mind. This is it. I propose to recount the full process, starting from scratch, then to a novice runner, a regular jogger, progressing up to a half marathon, and if you really get into it, on to a full marathon. Drawing from my experience mentioned above, I intend to cover the various aspects of the process, and (roughly) on a weekly basis provide a step-by-step guide to running a marathon.

I look forward to the first step within the next few days, hopefully this weekend. So, till then, cheerio and good night!

Dead Famous, by Ben Elton

I'm sorry, dear fans, but I have to take a slight break from blogging. I've just started to read Ben Elton's Dead Famous, and it's taking up every moment of my spare time (which is not very much anyway). It happens every time I read any of Ben Elton's books - too bad that by now I've read them all except for Popcorn. This whodunit is unusual in that the reader has to guess the identity of both murderer AND victim.

I won't take long. In the meantime, I'm working on an idea for an interesting project for this blog, which I hope to start soon.

Hobgoblins in flimsy hot-air balloons

Lilliput is in great turmoil. From the big forest across the valley, hobgoblins are coming over in flimsy hot-air balloons, which often burst along their journey towards the Land of Milk and Honey, crashing down into Lilliput. The hobgoblins are then locked inside caves, and fed leaves and water so that they can stay alive.

Now the problem with these hobgoblins is that they happen to have big lips and, to make matters even worse, they worship the moon, unlike the goblins of Lilliput who are, by official decree, sun worshippers.

This is, indeed, a serious problem. So much so that many Lilliputians are angry about the situation, and are threatening the two big tribes, the Elves and the Imps, that they will no longer support them if they do not “do something” about these hobgoblins, who are threatening to take over Lilliput, and change it beyond recognition.

A certain Gnomalowil has set up a tribe called ImpEures, with the declared aim of shooting down any passing hot-air balloon. Few goblins take Gnomalowil seriously, but both big tribes are careful not to appear as if they are not “doing something” about the hobgoblins from across the valley, otherwise they will lose precious votes to the other side.

At a meeting of the Great Leaders of the Land of Milk and Honey, Lilliput’s Great Leader Gobbi has put his foot down and insisted that hobgoblins who crash land in Lilliput should be sent to other forests. The other Great Leaders were not very impressed, and pointed out that there are goblins, hobgoblins and even fairies all over the place, moving from forest to forest, and not only in Lilliput.

The leader of the Imps, Gasket, is also clear on the subject. This is nothing less than a crisis, and the rulers of Lilliput should do something about it. The Imps are even ready to support Gobbi in his bid to get rid of the hobgoblins and send them to the other forests.

At the Wide World of Forests (WWF), Gobbi had the chance to address the leaders of the world’s forests. Up till his intervention in that hallowed forum, the various leaders had discussed silly, unimportant matters, such as the scarcity and the price of mushrooms, diseases, forest fires. It had to be Gobbi to set the WWF assembly alight with his statesmanlike speech, especially when he remarked that the hobgoblins in Lilliput should be shared between various forests, since Lilliput is facing a serious crisis because of them.

Alas, some forest leaders couldn't grasp the fine thinking underlying Gobbi’s speech. One commented that the Lilliputians are behaving just like a bunch of spoilt brats, who don’t know the meaning of the word crisis. Maybe Lilliput should just carry out its duties like everyone else, and stop boring the whole world silly with its tantrums, he said. After all, he concluded, it may be true that hobgoblins have big lips, but is it not also true that Lilliputians have big tummies?

What's quite certain is that it's not very pleasant to be a hobgoblin in Lilliput. Maybe Lilliputians are not as hospitable as they like to think they are, after all...